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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Milkbaby's movie meanderings: Sherman and Mr Peabody

Last week I took Milkbaby and The Sailor to see Sherman and Mr Peabody. As Milkbaby is now capable of expressing his own opinions on films, I thought I'd do this review Q&A style with him. To guide you through the review below, here's a brief plot synopsis:

Mr. Peabody, the most accomplished dog in the world, and his mischievous boy Sherman, use their time machine - The WABAC - to go on the most outrageous adventures known to man or dog. But when Sherman takes The WABAC out for a joyride to impress his friend Penny, they accidentally rip a hole in the time-space continuum, wreaking havoc on the most important events in world history. Before they forever alter the past, present and future, Mr. Peabody must come to their rescue, ultimately facing the most daunting challenge of any era: figuring out how to be a parent. Together, the time traveling trio will make their mark on history.

So, what did you think of Sherman and Mr Peabody?
I liked the fighting of Penny. The fighting of Penny [hand gestures, karate chop style]. I liked the round thing.

The WABAC?
Yes, the WABAC.

What was your favourite part of the movie?
I liked the killing to get Penny away. The killing. [ed: for the record, I couldn't recall anyone being killed or dying in this movie - even "the baddies" had happy endings]

What happened in that part?
Fighting came to climb up the building, and he went on the WABAC home. [here I think Milkbaby is referring to a particularly exciting rescue of Penny from the ancient Egyptians, in which Sherman and Mr Peabody climb inside a large statue and impersonate a God who tells them to let her go]

What did you think of Mr Peabody?
He did great yoga. He did standing like that (gesticulates), with her tail, like that too. It was very funny.

What else?
And I know the fighting, the fighting to get Penny back.

Where did they go in the WABAC?
To home. Where else? And to Penny, when Penny doesn't kill, mama. Do they go to ancient Rome? Yes they did, and they're up the elevator. What about to renaissance Italy? They went to the honey bees. The saw a big guy. Mr Peabody bites someone. A big guy. He had pink and white.

What about Sherman?
Sherman is a nice boy, and Mr Peabody is a nice boy. Sherman looks like this tall (hand gestures).

Mr Peabody is a dog.
Mr Peabody is a dog. Silly me ding dong.How old do you think Sherman is?
Sherman is four years old. He turns five and goes to school.

Does he like school?
Yes he does.

Does he make friends there? Yes. What friends? Just all of them. They don't have toys there.

What else happened in the movie?
Oh, it did. What about a different movie? Madagascar.

And what did mummy think? The movie was surprisingly watchable. It had enough wit to keep me smiling, and I even learnt a thing or two from their visits to places in history. In this aspect, the learning aspect was a bit lost on Milkbaby, though the pace was probably too fast for children of all ages to actually learn something. Sadly, the familiar and sickening boy-rescues-silly-girl plot had my feminist hackles up. Unfortunately, Penny alternates between nasty and silly, and Sherman, for some reason, wants to impress her. In addition, the people they travel back in time to visit are almost all male as well (with King Tut, Agamemnon and all the other male ancient Greeks, Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein and ex-Presidents all making appearances). What are we teaching our sons with female leads and plotlines like this? I can only hope that the message Milkbaby got out of this was that the guy with the brains [Mr Peabody] will triumph, and you shouldn't do silly things to impress your friends (otherwise you may cause a rift in the time-space continuum).
Rating: *** (worth leaving the house for if you're desperate to find something to entertain your toddler)